Fire: A Fact of Life

Mt. Shasta Vista Subdivision is located in an area noted on maps as Juniper Flat. The entire subdivision and surrounding area are classified as High Fire Risk. Wildfire is not something that can happen here, it is something that does and will happen here for a long time. It is not a matter of "if" but "when".

There are natural disasters and risks no matter where we go. We cannot avoid risk. There a difference between worrying about risk and recognizing the risks we face and doing what we can to prevent them and to prepare for them.

Juniper Flat Fire Safe Council is working on a United States Forest Service (USFS) grant-funded project right now that entails creating "Shaded Fuel Breaks" along designated evacuation routes throughout the subdivision. Fire safety professionals and foresters call flammable vegetation "fuels". "Shaded" refers to the fact that many of the trees remain in place. Creating shaded fuel breaks means is work crews will thin brush and "limb" trees starting at the edge of the roadways and extending 100 feet into participating properties. "Limbing" means removing lower limbs on trees. This is an important step in slowing or preventing the spread of wildfire. Flames from wildfires may reach four or five times the height of the burning vegetation. So flames from burning brush that is five feet tall may reach as high as 25 feet. Brush fires tend to spread very quickly and burn out rapidly. The most dangerous thing about brush and grass fire is that it can ignite the larger, hotter burning trees. Fire that gets up into the canopies of trees is much more dangerous. The ubiquitous Junipers that dominate our forests reach heights of 80 feet or more. The flames from a burning Juniper can therefore reach heights of 400 feet. These trees burn very hot, create massive amounts of smoke and tend to explode when on fire. The fire will linger much longer than it does when the brush burns. So it is important to keep the fire from igniting the Junipers. Clearing or thinning brush and removing the lower limbs helps to prevent the fire from moving up into the canopies of the trees, therefore reducing the heat and voracity of wildfire. The fuels which lead fire up into the canopies of trees are known as "ladder fuels". The central point of creating shaded fuel breaks is to reduce ladder fuels. Trees are also often thinned to increase space between the canopies, further inhibiting the spread of fire.

What this project does for residents:
Evacuation is a critical issue here in Mt. Shasta Subdivision, and throughout all of Juniper Flat.
Some of our residents must drive five miles to reach the highway and safety. The roads are narrow and highly flammable vegetation crowds the edges. Some residents must drive five miles or more to reach the highway.

How the project helps firefighters:
CalFire Battalion Chief Ron Bravo points out that the project will help firefighters to protect us because they will have a safe passage into and out of the subdivision and it will give them safe places to take a stand against a fire. He also points out that blinding smoke and panicked drivers are a dangerous combination and vehicle collisions are common in evacuation situations. Such collisions can be catastrophic because they block roadways and can make it impossible for other evacuees to pass. If a collision occurs where there is a fuel break then firefighters have a chance of being able to protect the people thus trapped. Without a fuel break, the situation is much more likely to end tragically. Firefighters risk their lives to protect, but they can only do so when there is a reasonable expectation of their own survival.
Response times for all of the first responders are 15-20 minutes or more and winds tend to be strong here, so chances are a fire will already be going strong when the firefighters arrive on the scene. We need to give them all the help we can.

How the project helps all property owners:
If you own property in Mt. Shasta Vista subdivision it does not matter whether you live here or not, when there is a wildfire then you are at risk of losing your property value. Properties that are charred by wildfire tend to stagnate on the market. Would you buy a parcel of blackened trees and brush? If so, would you expect to pay the same price as a property that is populated with healthy green vegetation?
Perhaps you like the untouched, natural look of the area and are concerned that this project will reduce wildlife habitat. Heather Wood, a soil conservationist at the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service in Yreka says that the natural lifespan of sage brush is about ten years. When it dies it becomes extremely flammable and also blocks new growth. If you have not seen your property for several years you might be surprised at the amount of dead brush on the property. The wild life benefits from removal of the dead vegetation because they need the tender new growth that will soon emerge.

Links to further information:

Read a letter to my neighbors who own property on the evacuation route.

See what a participating resident homeowner says about the work done on his property and see before and after photos.

If your parcel is on one of the evacuation routes and you wish to participate, call George Jennings, Project Manager for the Juniper Flat Fire Safe Council’s Sponsor, Northern California Resource Center (NCRC) at 530-468-2888. Call him soon; there is a limited amount of funding.

If you live here or spend time here it is important to know what to do if you need to evacuate. Here are some links to CalFire Fact Sheets on evacuation:


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